Kintsukuroi
by trekker4life
Summary: Kintsukuroi is the art of repairing pottery with gold or silver lacquer and understanding that the piece is more beautiful for having been broken. Post-8x08, Mr. & Mrs. Castle. Caskett, always.


_**So...I watched the first two episodes of the season and was so upset, that I only just watched the rest of them yesterday and today. I feel better knowing that Caskett isn't going anywhere (for the moment). And as I was looking through my plot bunny board on Pinterest, I came across this and my muse decided to produce my first Castle fic. Enjoy and please R &R!**_

 ** _Thank you to introspecticskeptic for being my sounding board and un-official beta._**

 ** _Trekker_**

 ** _Disclaimer: I own no part of the television series Castle._**

 ** _~~RC~~KB~~RC~~KB~~RC~~KB~~_**

Castle unlocked the door to the loft and sighed as he stepped in and closed it behind him. It had been a long day and he was very much looking forward to just relaxing for the rest of the evening. Maybe open a bottle of wine, draw a bath...with Kate, of course.

Kate.

That woman would be the end of him one of these days. This latest hurdle was, of course, the hardest to get past. Most sane people would have broken ties with her long ago; cut their losses to save their own skins. And hearts. But never let it be said that Richard Castle was sane.

Rick tossed his overcoat onto the arm of the couch as he walked into his bedroom, loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt sleeves as he went. His movements were automatic as his mind continued to whirl.

He loved Katherine Beckett, plain and simple. And as that movie said, sometimes people do crazy things when they're in love. As much as he wanted to say that he would have been completely honest with Kate if their roles had been reversed, he knew deep down that he may not have done so. He didn't have a great track record with keeping secrets himself.

Well, anyway, that had been over a month ago and, while the search for LokSat had come to another screeching halt, he had to admit, it was nice to have his wife back in his life, especially at Christmas.

Flipping on the light, he froze. Laying innocently on his pillow was a small box. As far as he knew, it hadn't been there when he left for work this morning and none of his ladies would have been in the loft today.

He glanced around. Yup - no one in the loft but him. He stepped closer. It was small, maybe four inches square, and wrapped in silver paper with a blue bow on the lid. He picked it up. Not really light-weight, but not extremely heavy, either.

His curiosity got the better of him and he opened it, dumping the contents into his hand. Inside was a smaller box, covered in dark velvet. "A jewelry box?" he asked himself. Setting the outer box on the nightstand beside the bed, he opened the smaller one and his confusion grew.

Inside the jewelry box lay a handsome gold pendant on a sturdy chain. The pendant was shaped like a shield and imprinted with five numbers: 41319. "Beckett's badge number?" he whispered.

"Hey."

At the sound of her voice, he spun around. Kate herself was leaning against the open bedroom door. She walked forward and joined him by the bed. "Hey," he responded, a bit late. Kate looked at the box in his hand.

"You found your gift."

"Uh...yeah. It's nice," he said. She smiled, a little uncertainly. "Did you see the other side?"

At Castle's confused look, she reached over and gently pulled the necklace out of the box and turned the pendant over, revealing a second set of numbers imprinted on the back. Their wedding date.

"I know it's a bit late, but I wanted to give you this," Kate explained, looking him in the eye.

"I know I hurt you by not telling you what was going on and I know I can be...difficult to work with, let alone love. But that pendant represents a promise. My promise. Those dates are the two most important vows I have ever taken. One to the force and the other to you."

She took the empty box from his hand and placed it on the nightstand with the outer one before placing the pendant in his hand. She took his free hand in hers. "That necklace is my promise - my oath - to you. That I will, from this point on, tell you the complete truth, no matter my worries or fears. This is me, repairing the damage I've done. I love you, Rick, and I'm tired of screwing up - I want forever, with you."

His eyes began to burn as he listened to her words. Her betrayal of trust by keeping her reasons for splitting up a secret had hurt...but maybe things would be better for it - their relationship would learn and grow, become stronger.

"Oh, Kate," he whispered, reaching up with the hand that still held the necklace and pulling her in for a deep kiss. Castle stepped back and felt his knees hit the bed. A small tug had them both falling back onto it. The fall broke their kiss, but not before he felt wetness on his cheeks and saw the same on hers. "I love you, so, so much. I...this...this means so much...I just..."

She laughed lightly, still with tears in her eyes. "So you like it?" Rick pulled her in for another kiss.

"Yes, I do."

 ** _~~RC~~KB~~RC~~KB~~RC~~KB~~_**

 ** _Short, I know. But it felt right to leave it there. I hope you all enjoyed it._**

 ** _Trekker_**


End file.
